Spinosaurus
Spinosaurus (meaning "spine lizard", from Latin spina and Greek sauros) is a genus of theropod dinosaur which lived in northern Africa in the mid-Cretaceous period, approximately 112 to 97 million years ago. The primary known species is S. aegyptiacus, discovered in Egypt, though a possible second species, S. maroccanus, was found in Morocco. Spinosaurus may be the largest carnivorous dinosaur known, surpassing Tyrannosaurus and Giganotosaurus, with modern estimates putting it at 15 to 18 meters (50 to 60 feet) in length and10 to 20.9 tonnes (7.7 to 23.0 short tons). The skull of Spinosaurus is long and narrow, similar to those of modern crocodilians, and lends credence to the idea that it may have been primarily a piscivore; there is also evidence that it lived both on land and in water. The animal's most distinctive feature, though, is the spine on its back, formed from extensions of the vertebrae, reaching as much as 1.65 meters (5.4 feet) in height, and likely covered with connective skin or possibly a fatty hump. The purpose of this spine is unknown, with theories including display or controlling the animal's body temperature. Spinosaurus appears as a dangerous pointable animal in Carnivores 2 and Carnivores: Dinosaur Hunter, where it is significantly smaller than the real-life animal. Biology Spinosaurus is a large semi-aquatic carnivore, feeding on fish and smaller animals. Spinosaurus means "spiny lizard" due to the series of neural spines up to 6 feet (1.8 m) long protruding from its vertebrae. Despite being very large, it is incredibly agile; the FMM UV-32 species is also proportioned very differently from the earth species enabling faster speed. It maintains the speed and jumping ability of Velociraptor and combined with the stamina of Allosaurus, signaling that this animal is extremely powerful. FMM UV-32's Spinosaurus is noticeably different than Earth's. Namely, the FMM UV-32 species is much smaller, rarely exceeding 18 feet in length, still large as far as the predators of the planet go. Meanwhile, Earth's Spinosaurus was enormous, exceeding 15 meters in length and 21 tonnes in weight, even larger than Tyrannosaurus. However, FMM UV-32's variety of the dinosaur makes up for being smaller by being much more aggressive and dangerous. Earth's Spinosaurus was thought to have been 60 feet long and primarily carnivorous and piscivorous, wading in prehistoric swamps and snapping up any large aquatic prey that swam by. By contrast, the Spinosaurus of FMM UV-32 is a powerful, intelligent, and active hunter of large herbivorous dinosaurs. Despite this ferocity, it seems relatively scared of humans. It will however flee if approached from a distance. Coloration Spinosaurus is one of the few animals known from FMM UV-32 to have varying skin colors between individuals, something that it shares in common with Dimetrodon. Different animals come in two colors: Olive green with orange spots, to a pale color with very faint orange spots. Target Zone Spinosaurus have a health value of 12 and require many shots from most weapons to kill or sedate them, usually while charging at the hunter. Behavior Spinosaurus is relatively hard to hunt due to a few, well pointed aspects. Unlike a Ceratosaurus or a Tyrannosaurus, Spinosaurus will run if it catches the hunter's scent, often towards water to swim as far away as possible. If it is very close to the hunter before smelling them, though, Spinosaurus is much more likely to give chase and attack. Similarities to Allosaurus and Velociraptor Many players have noted the similarity between the AI of the Spinosaurus and the Allosaurus, the only difference being that Spinosaurus will occasionally stop to sniff the air. In addition, the Spinosaurus and Allosaurus are identical in size. These facts strongly suggest that the Spinosaurus was based on the Allosaurus when it was added. While the Spinosaurus is visually the same size as the Allosaurus, its in game weight and length in Carnivores 2 are the exact same as the Velociraptor. Spinosaurus in-game description states the lengths are very similar, but it should weigh much more than it actually does. This is fixed in Carnivores: Dinosaur Hunter. Carnivores: Dinosaur Hunter Like most animals in Carnivores 2, Spinosaurus re-appears Carnivores: Dinosaur Hunter. However, like the Dimetrodon, the animal's color was changed. There has been no specified reason why this was done.﻿ However, it's possible it has to do with transparency problems the original skin on the Spinosaurus had in 3DFX and D3D mode. In the Android version of Carnivores: Dinosaur Hunter, the Spinosaurus is seen with its original coloration from Carnivores 2. In-game description Category:Animals in Carnivores: Dinosaur Hunter